Manchester Thunder

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AO Manchester Thunder
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Nickname(s)Black and Yellows
Founded2001
Based inManchester
RegionsNorth West England
Home venueManchester Arena
Belle Vue Sports Village
Liverpool Arena
CEODavid Jennings
Head coachKaren Greig
Asst coachLaura Malcom
ManagerPhil Thomas
CaptainAmy Carter
Vice-captainJosie Huckle, Taylor McKevitt
Premierships2012, 2014, 2019, 2022
LeagueNetball Superleague
Websitewww.thundernetball.co.uk

AO Manchester Thunder are an English netball team based in Manchester. Their senior team plays in the Netball Super League where they were founding members. They were Super League champions in 2012, 2014, 2019 and 2022. Between 2001 and 2012 they played as Northern Thunder and were originally based in Bury, Greater Manchester.

History

Northern Thunder

Between 2001 and 2005 Northern Thunder, together with five other franchises – Northern Flames, London Tornadoes, London Hurricanes, University of Birmingham Blaze and Team Bath Force – competed in the Super Cup. Northern Thunder won the 2002 Super Cup. Northern Thunder players from the Super Cup era included Amanda Newton, Tracey Neville, Jade Clarke and Sara Bayman[1][2][3][4]

In 2005 Northern Thunder were named as the North West England franchise in the new Netball Super League. Together with Brunel Hurricanes, Celtic Dragons, Leeds Carnegie, Galleria Mavericks, Team Bath, Loughborough Lightning and Team Northumbria, Northern Thunder were founding members of the league.[5] In 2012, Thunder won their first Superleague title. Janelle Lawson scored 33 goals as they defeated Surrey Storm 57–55 in the grand final.[6]

Manchester Thunder

In 2012 Thunder relocated from Bury, Greater Manchester to Gorton.[7][8][9] They subsequently changed their name from Northern Thunder to Manchester Thunder ahead of the 2013 season.[10] In 2014 Thunder won their second Super League title after defeating Surrey Storm 49–48 in the grand final.[11] In 2019 Thunder won their third Super League title.[12][13]

In the 2022 season Manchester Thunder finished the regular season undefeated, becoming the first team to do so over 20 games. They defeated Team Bath in the semi-finals and then beat Loughborough Lightning in the final to claim their 4th Super League title.

In the 2023 season they finished 3rd in the regular season standings and were defeated in their semi-final by the eventual champions Loughborough Lightning. They beat Surrey Storm in the third-place play-off.

In the 2024 season Manchester Thunder finished the regular season top of the table, having only lost one game - against Loughborough Lightning at home. They faced Severn Stars in the Semi Final, beating them 63-54, to set up a final against Loughborough, where they were defeated 54-70.

In 2025 season, Thunder faced many challenges with Lois Pearson, Paige Reed and new signing Nicola Smith all out with injuries and Natalie Metcalf announcing her pregnancy. Despite this the team finished 3rd in the league qualifying for playoffs where they beat London Mavericks 79-49 in the minor Semi-Final, but lost to Loughborough Lightning 69-57 in the Preliminary Final.[14]

In August 2025 Debbie Hallas announced her decision to step down as a director and away from day-to-day involvement of Thunder.[14] The decision came after a requirement for new investment to support the club through NSL 2.0 and ensure they were awarded the franchise. She had been at the helm for 17 years but remains a minority shareholder.[15] David Jennings became the new owner.

In September 2025 Thunder launched a rebrand which incorporated a new logo, look and feel, as well as a new website. [14] In February 2026, they officially changed their name to AO Manchester Thunder, as part of their sponsorship deal with online electricals retailer AO. [16]

Senior finals

Super Cup

Season Winners Score Runners up Venue
2002 [3][17] Northern Thunder University of Birmingham Blaze
2004 [18] Team Bath Force 49–43 Northern Thunder Blackpool

Netball Super League Grand Finals

Season Winners Score Runners up Venue
2012[6][19] Northern Thunder 57–55 Surrey Storm SportHouse
2014[11] Manchester Thunder 49–48 Surrey Storm Worcester Arena
2016[20][21] Surrey Storm 55–53 Manchester Thunder Copper Box Arena
2019[12][13] Manchester Thunder 57–52 Wasps Copper Box Arena
2022[22] Manchester Thunder 60–53 Loughborough Lightning Copper Box Arena
2024[23] Loughborough Lightning 70–54 Manchester Thunder Resorts World Arena

Mike Greenwood trophy

Since 2012 Manchester Thunder have hosted the Manchester Invitational Tournament. The winners are awarded the Mike Greenwood Trophy, named in honour of the former Northern Thunder head coach who died in 2011. It is usually played during pre-season.[24][25][26]

Season Winners Score Runners up Venue
2012 Manchester Thunder
2013 Manchester Thunder
2014 [24] Manchester Thunder 13–12 Loughborough Lightning Thunderdome
2015 [25][27] Team Bath 19–14 Manchester Thunder
2016 [28][29] Wasps 22–15 Team Bath Belle Vue Sports Village
2018 [30] Manchester Thunder 31–29 benecosMavericks Oldham Leisure Centre [31]
2019 [26][32] Manchester Thunder 49–42 Saracens Mavericks Platt Lane Sports Complex

Home venues

Thunder train and play their home games at several venues and locations throughout Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Cheshire[33] with their main training facility and head office at MMU Platt Lane Sports Complex. Between 2008–09 and 2011, Northern Thunder played their home Super League games at Castle Leisure Centre in Bury, Greater Manchester. In 2012 Manchester Thunder began playing their home Super League games at Wright Robinson College in Gorton. When Manchester Thunder played home games there, the arena was referred to as the Manchester Thunderdome.[7][8][9][34] Since 2020 Manchester Thunder have played a majority of their home Super League games at the National Basketball Performance Centre in the Belle Vue Sports Village [35] with other home Netball Super League matches being played at Manchester Arena[36][37] and in 2025 they will be playing at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool for the first time.

Notable players

2026 squad

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Internationals

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Sources:[40]

Head coaches

Coach Years
Template:Flagicon Mike Greenwood [9][41] 2008–2011
Template:Flagicon Tracey Neville[9][42][43] 2011–2015
Template:Flagicon Dan Ryan[44][45] 2015–2016
Template:Flagicon Karen Greig [46] 2016–present

Honours

References

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  2. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Classy ladies". www.chroniclelive.co.uk. 14 May 2003. Archived from the original on 18 February 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  3. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Netball: Tornadoes put wind up Hurricanes as Newton has a real stormer; Super Cup (Bath)". www.thefreelibrary.com. 25 May 2003. Archived from the original on 3 March 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  4. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Thunder struck by Force power". www.sportfocus.com. 24 May 2003. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  5. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Dr. Louise Mansfield & Dr. Lara Killick (1 January 2012). "The UK Netball Superleague: A Case Study of Franchising in Elite Women's Sport" (PDF). Brunel University, School of Sport and Education, Kingston Lane, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UK; and University of the Pacific, Department of Health, Exercise and Sport Science, Stockton, CA. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 August 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
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